A Broadside series
A Broadside was a periodical, published monthly by Elizabeth Corbet (E.C.) Yeats at the Cuala Press in Dublin, Ireland, from June 1908 to May 1915. There are seven volumes of this set of A Broadside, each starting in June and ending in May of the year after. The Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts at the University of Pennsylvania holds two volumes in full, the first year from June 1908 to May 1909 and the second year from June 1909 to May 1910, and various issues from the ensuing volumes until May 1915, the last issue of the set. The series includes poems by James Stephens, Lady Gregory, Seamus O'Sullivan, William Butler (W.B.) Yeats, and others, and translations into English from George Borrow, Douglas Hyde, and others. Jack Butler Yeats, the brother of E.C. and W.B. Yeats, illustrated the series. Each edition of A Broadside had 300 copies.
Background
Irish Literary Revival
Ireland’s history as fully part of the English, later British, Empire began in 1601 when Gaelic Ireland was defeated at the siege of Kinsale. From the late 19th to early 20th century, Dublin was the center of the Irish Literary Revival, in which W.B. Yeats was a prominent figure. The movement was aligned with strong political nationalism and a revival of interest in Ireland’s Gaelic literary heritage.
In January 1919, Dáil Éireann, a breakaway government, declared independence, claiming jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland, but the island was partitioned in May 1921, today, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland opted out of the Irish Free State when it was established under the Anglo-Irish Treaty in December 1922. The statutory role of the British monarchy in relation to this territory did not end until 1948 when it was declared the Republic of Ireland.
Yeats and Family
E.C. Yeats
Elizabeth Corbet “Lolly” Yeats, "E.C. Yeats" on each issue of A Broadside, was the first commercial printer in Ireland to work exclusively with hand presses. Yeats was a founder of Dun Emer Guild with Dun Emer Press evolving into Cuala Pess. She was the sister of Irish poet, playwright, and politician W.B. Yeats, who is known as a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival.